It is fitting to pause and contemplate the great sacrifices made on our behalf by those brave and dedicated souls who sacrificed their lives, their property, and their beloved families in some cases, in order to bring to pass the freedoms we now enjoy. I become livid when I see and hear fools, intellectual and otherwise, degrade, discredit, and abase the Founders due to their human imperfections. What value is there in tearing them down when they brought to be those documents that are the foundation of our very existence in a LAND OF FREEDOM?

And the soldiers who gave in the wars since 1776 and the founding of the Constitution in 1789, many of whom still carry scars and disabilities, sometimes in wars that were unpopular.

And those who give of time, talent, and separation from family today as they take freedom to the oppressed in other lands. What right have we to think that people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other lands do not deserve, or cannot function in a free society? Do we not owe to them the opportunities that were given to us by our own forbears? What mountainous personal selfishness, boorishness, churlishness gives them permission to haughtily reserve for themselves blessings of liberty that they did not, themselves, earn? I often think that there is no greater sin committed against the Great Creator than the sin of ingratitude.

So as we celebrate with brauts, hamburgers, explosions of fireworks, and time with family or off fishing, let us take also some time to thank our Creator for His Blessing of Liberty granted through the miracles of 1776 and 1789 when He so carefully guided wise men raised by Him to That Very Purpose that we might benefit from the opportunities that most of the world has never experienced. That divinely inspired statement in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that *all* men [and women] are created equal, and are endowed *by their creator* [not government] with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness [not happiness provided by government]. And that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers [not any unjust powers] from the *consent of the governed*" was hoisted like a banner in the face of autocratic rulers who had dominated the world almost since the dawn of mankind. It was indeed a revolutionary concept never before seen in the societies of Europe from whence we came.

And as we talk of "freedom of expression" and the vile behaviors of some who exploit that freedom to the detriment of self and society, of freedom of religion in the face of those who seek to suppress any public expression of the same, and as we see those who cannot understand what a family really is -- a male father, a female mother, and children -- living in a loving home where parents dedicate their lives to rearing offspring of high moral character, let us be ever mindful that liberty is not the right to do what one pleases -- whether it be good or ill.

We live in a world of choices. We have the POWER to choose between good and evil, between right and wrong. We do NOT have the *right* to choose evil or wrong; only the power to do so. And we cannot escape the inevitable consequences, good or bad, of the choices we make. Some have chosen the power/privilege to not believe in an Almighty who Rules in the Affairs of Men. But it matters not. One also has the privilege to get on top of a 40-story building, leap into the air, and claim to not believe in gravity. But just as gravity is inevitable as is their pending encounter against the pavement below, they forget to realize that choosing to believe or not believe has no effect whatever on the very real existence of the Divine Creator, nor on our inevitable accountability to That Being for our lives and how we lived them here, after we depart from this frail existence called mortality and face the accounts, carefully kept by invisible observers, of how we conducted ourselves in that short time from birth to death.

Liberty carries with it responsibility. Great responsibility to vigorously defend it, and to vigorously promote it to all of mankind where ever mankind is found. And with that responsibility comes the responsibility to be grateful for that which we enjoy but did not create ourselves.

That was awesome. I forwarded your email to all my friends. Today, I am reminded of how much this country meant to my Grandfather and his twin brother as they fought in WWII. My Papaw was in the infantry and he would NEVER tell me anything about the war, no matter how much I begged. He would just close his eyes and shake his head. I can only imagine what he must be trying to forget. Now he is in the final stages of Alzheimer's and all I know is he fought.

His twin brother, on the other hand, flew a B29 flying fortress and is a highly decorated war hero. He loves talking about it and I have hours of video footage of him and even some buddies talking about the war. He is even in several books, one of which he helped write. Shot down 4 times (he laughs and says he should have been a better pilot). But, in my eyes they are heroes, and always will be.

I see this generation of soldiers no differently. They are heroes, fighting a brutal enemy that would think nothing of beheading our little children if they could get their sleazy hands on them. They not only fight a brutal enemy, but they also have to deal with the shame of "traitors" at home who willfully and gleefully give our most secret weapons to our enemies. While they shed their blood on a battle field for what they believe in, some at home want to reward the cowardly terrorists by giving them victory over our brave men and women (and our country) with a cut and run strategy that will disgrace our entire military, only because they want to humiliate a president they despise. And, while our soldiers are fighting for our freedom, the despicable Cindy Sheehan is "protesting" in our nation's capitol. "EXERCISING HER RIGHT TO BE AN IDIOT!"

Jimmy

BTW: If you're offended by this, so what...

Logged

"Ask yourself this question...Are you funky enough to be a globetrotter? Well are you??? ARE YOU?!?!

That was awesome.† I forwarded your email to all my friends.† Today, I am reminded of how much this country meant to my Grandfather and his twin brother as they fought in WWII.† My Papaw was in the infantry and he would NEVER tell me anything about the war, no matter how much I begged.† He would just close his eyes and shake his head.† I can only imagine what he must be trying to forget.† Now he is in the final stages of Alzheimer's and all I know is he fought.

His twin brother, on the other hand, flew a B29 flying fortress and is a highly decorated war hero.† He loves talking about it and I have hours of video footage of him and even some buddies talking about the war.† He is even in several books, one of which he helped write.† Shot down 4 times (he laughs and says he should have been a better pilot).† But, in my eyes they are heroes, and always will be.†

I see this generation of soldiers no differently.† They are heroes, fighting a brutal enemy that would think nothing of beheading our little children if they could get their sleazy hands on them.† They not only fight a brutal enemy, but they also have to deal with the shame of "traitors" at home who willfully and gleefully give our most secret weapons to our enemies.† While they shed their blood on a battle field for what they believe in, some at home want to reward the cowardly terrorists by giving them victory over our brave men and women (and our country) with a cut and run strategy that will disgrace our entire military, only because they want to humiliate a president they despise.† And, while our soldiers are fighting for our freedom, the despicable Cindy Sheehan is "protesting" in our nation's capitol.† "EXERCISING HER RIGHT TO BE AN IDIOT!"

Jimmy

BTW:† If you're offended by this, so what...

Hi Jimmy; Just my 2cents worth -- - - - - - Bravo, well said. I appreciate our men and women in the miliatary fighting for freedome in foreign countries in order that folks like Cindy Sheehan CAN be an idiot. Merle.